Golden Gate Bridge suicides up last year

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

Thirty-seven people killed themselves by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge in 2011, an increase from the past few years, said an organization pushing for the addition of a suicide barrier on the 75-year-old landmark.

Gaining precise counts of suicides from the bridge has proved to be difficult. The figure reported Wednesday came from the Bridge Rail Foundation and Ken Holmes, who handled bridge suicides as Marin County coroner until his departure in January 2011.

Holmes relied on reports of suicides by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. However, a district spokeswoman, Mary Currie, said the incident reports should be considered unofficial because the agency does not conduct investigations.

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Holmes said there were 32 Golden Gate Bridge suicides in 2010, 31 in 2009 and 34 in 2008.

Holmes said his former employer, the coroner's office, reported receiving the bodies of 23 jumpers last year. Some jumpers' bodies are never found.

The bridge district removed an additional 100 people last year from the span or the surrounding area after becoming concerned they intended to jump, Currie said. That number was the highest in at least a decade.

Paul Muller, a founding member of the Bridge Rail Foundation, said the figures "prove again that the bridge is the top destination for suicide in the world. More people die off this facility than any other on the planet, and it's been going on for 75 years."

The bridge district has been trying to raise $45 million to build a suicide barrier - a net hanging under the bridge - that district board members approved in 2008.